Which term describes the thinking component of culture?

The term that describes the thinking component of culture is "Cognitive culture." This concept encompasses the shared beliefs, values, attitudes, and thought processes that influence how individuals within a culture perceive and interpret their experiences. Cognitive culture involves the mental frameworks and symbolic systems that shape understanding, decision-making, and behavior within a particular societal context.

Cognitive culture plays a crucial role in how people communicate, solve problems, and form social norms. It reflects the intellectual aspects of culture, such as language, logic, and ethics, which operate behind the scenes of daily interactions and societal functions. By focusing on cognitive culture, one can better understand the underlying principles that inform people’s actions and thoughts within a community.

The other terms do not accurately capture this specific aspect of culture. Material culture refers to the physical objects and artifacts created by a society, adaptive culture pertains to how cultures adjust to environmental challenges and new circumstances, and subcultural thoughts could imply variations within different cultural groups but wouldn't fully encompass the comprehensive notion of the cognitive component that molds larger cultural understanding.